Balance Druid PvP+Arena 3.3.3

[palefish]

Just this past month or so Ive been trying to step back into arena and pvp. I've been working on getting all my gear from honor and such. I just wanted to know a few things:

1. is there was a cookie cutter spec for arenas?
2. what 2s/3s/5s combinations have you found extremely successful?
3. what enchants/gems would you recommend?
4. any overall tips/tricks or certain things you've found useful that youd like to share with other balance druids?

If this turns into a "Rate the boomkin above you", that's fine, just trying to start a thread where all boomkins can share their ideas

My Armory: http://www.wowarmory.com/character-s...&cn=Silverfeet
I know I dont have epic gems >_>, been gemming/chanting my pve set, and my pvp spec is the 53/0/18

[Ormula]

Boomkins since the Starfall buff have only started to become viable again in arenas (And even still, it's very hard to get highly rated. Not impossible, though).

You have a lot of resilience, more than you need. You have tank-like attributes in boomkin form, so you should replace those Res/SP gems with Haste/SP gems, your haste is very low. You're also missing about 3% hit, but that's something that can get fixed.

Replace your Brambles with Celestial Focus.
Dreamstate actually gives you more mana back than Intensity.
You probably won't need glyph of Barkskin, for the same reason you don't need to gem resilience. Insect Swarm is probably the better choice, or even Glyph of Focus.
And the biggest issue I see with it at all... you don't have Eclipse. Sure, no one likes RNG in arenas, but Eclipse is a /ton/ of damage. You need that, and you can time your ICDs with your partner's and yours CC, to blow a target up with 7k starfire crits.


Here's a couple of the best moonkins in the game right now, you can look at their stuff:
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-s...rius&cn=Leathi
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-s...iras&cn=Scarne

[palefish]

I appreciate all the advice I was told the "hierarchy" for stats for arena boomkin was SP>crit>haste, as why I havent been going for much haste. And the eclipse thing is a matter of how much time do I have to actually sit still and cast a specific spell, which is why I had thought it not needed. I definitely like the first druids spec you put up, looks very good, and Im glad you mentioned the dreamstate vs intensity because Ive been wondering that for days >_< Any other input you have would be amazing Im surprised there isnt many people in this thread to be honest.

Thanks again,
Silverfeet

[Ormula]

I appreciate all the advice I was told the "hierarchy" for stats for arena boomkin was SP>crit>haste, as why I havent been going for much haste. And the eclipse thing is a matter of how much time do I have to actually sit still and cast a specific spell, which is why I had thought it not needed. I definitely like the first druids spec you put up, looks very good, and Im glad you mentioned the dreamstate vs intensity because Ive been wondering that for days >_< Any other input you have would be amazing Im surprised there isnt many people in this thread to be honest.

Thanks again,
Silverfeet

While I would agree with sp > crit > haste hierarchy, you have some pretty low haste. I've always enjoyed getting crit offpieces and gemming sp/haste, just to keep a balance.

Also, you need to remember your 4pc set bonus. It's a 15% proc rate without an ICD (if I remember correctly), so even if you're playing against like, two slippery LoS classes on Nagrand Arena, you can be spamming wrath even during eclipse, and then just wait for a Wrath of Elune proc and do a .5-1 second Starfire. If that happens, that's like... insane damage.

[palefish]

Im definitely gonna have to agree with the haste thing. My casting compared to my PVE set is SLOWAnd now that I think about eclipse, itd be way better to have a buff that I can use a little bit rather than no buff at all. My main issue is trying to keep track of Eclipse procs and maintaining focus on the rest of the fight, like when to cyclone or typhoon to try to get the interrupt or knock off (such as off the bridge in BE arena) because Im ALWAYS looking for the moon/sun. But I guess thats just something else I need to work on, I started running Squawk and Awe recently and it seemed to help A TON in pve, so I just need to utilize it more in the arenas. And again, I really do appreciate you taking the time to help me out

[Abolishment]

Haste is outstanding for a while. The closer to a 1-second GCD on your instants, the better.

Part of being a Moonkin is using -everything- you have to win.

Whether that means popping your cooldown(s) and aiming for a burn/burst kill, or Lifeblooming your partner when he has Living Bomb on him (syncs up well), you have to do it, and do it fast.

So, past the obligatory things that help all PvPers, such as:
"need to keybind or find a system that -works- for you"
"get addons"
"build a UI with PvP in mind"
"macros, macros, macros"
etc.

-you will also need to practice a lot. Moonkin is hard to play correctly, as it involves a lot of decision making. Do you Cyclone now and top yourself up, or do you keep pressure up and see who can kill the other first? Stuff like that. I suggest looking around WarcraftMovies and other websites for some good Moonkin PvP videos (I haven't found one in a while, if you have one in mind, please link). Also, duel. Duel your heart out. With the buff to Starfall's damage, it can pressure opponents into playing defensively, or get kills on players you weren't even trying to kill (my Boomkin rides shotgun on Demos in SoTA/Wintergrasp and it is -hilarious-). Train yourself to use it well, and know what suppresses the damage. I have some quick dueling tips that help me in both Arena and Battlegrounds (and ePeen flexing under Dalaran).

Death Knights: Entangling Roots is your friend. Get an addon to track Diminishing Returns, force the Death Knight to blow Strangulate and Anti-Magic Shell, then pop Starfall when you know both are on cooldown. Try and keep your distance, especially when you drop Treants, or he'll Pestilence off of you and they'll die shortly. I spend most of the fight in Travel and Caster form keeping Regrowth and Rejuvination on myself while I draw out his tricks.

Mages: Very tough fight, especially because they'll steal your HoTs. Go for Nourish, shift out of -every- freeze in place. Use Entangling Roots to keep his Blink on cooldown. Save Starfall for Mirror Images, DoT the Elemental and it'll usually die before the duration is up.

Rogues: Once you have gear (and you do), this fight is less about surviving the burst and more about keeping him controlled. Faerie Fire always, don't be afraid to Cyclone. Awesome note: If he blows Cloak on Faerie Fire and his Trinket on Cyclone, he's vulnerable to Roots for the rest of the fight. Don't be afraid to stop the fight with Roots and Cyclone to heal yourself up as much as possible.

Hunters: I spend most of this fight in Travel Form abusing DoTs and melee range. If you can, LoS the Hunter and Hibernate the pet. They hate that, between Roots and Hibernate their pet can't do much.

Healers: Keep them DoTed up, hope for some crits to bring them low, then abuse the Cyclone>Starfire to do as much as possible. Healers are a tough fight for nearly everyone, just be happy to know that they can not kill you (except for Disc Priests who are Mana Burn crazy, and even then only if you don't outplay them).

In group PvP, especially arena, communication is key. Your damage is high enough to justify you on a team, and your control is fantastic, just make sure you mention you're Hibernating the Feral or Cycloning the 10% HP Rogue. Positioning is key, as you have a few abilities with drastically different ranges. You don't want to Typhoon someone out of range of your Cyclone if your goal is crowd control training.

Oh, general note- Typhoon is awesome. Experiment with the range and cone on Target Dummies or PvE mobs to get an idea of just how big it is. That way you can find vanishing Rogues or Invis-using Mages.

Good luck and have fun!

[palefish]

Amazing tips! Im gonna have to keep this all in mind, and sorry for writing such a short reply and such specific questions :P

PVE idol vs PVP idol, any extremely important reason to use one over the other?

How about locks/spriests, they tend to give me hell if theyre in anything more than furious?

And for 2s specifically, any particular partner youve seen work exceptionally well, for now I just want to work on getting to 1800 for a wep.

Lastly, would you suggest getting all relentless with arena/honor or saving for wrathful?
I appreciate all your inputs

[Abolishment]

Warlocks are hell. You can't outlast them, since most are Affliction and they can drain your mana, plus a large amount of their damage heals them. The best you can do is try to abuse the terrain and line of sight to kill their pet. Your Spell Penetration is a little low for killing Felhunters, but it can be done with Treants and Starfall against a mildly neglectful Warlock. Personally, I try and IS/MF/Starfire down the pet while remaining out of range of Fear (Fear is 20-24 yards, pending talents). I choose Starfire over Wrath, because a Warlock fearing his pet will die will lock out your cast, even if it is your Arcane School, letting you heal and Wrath for 24 seconds without fearing a Silence. It is possible to Root the Warlock and drag the pet, unless he keeps it passive (in which case, you can dance in and out of range).

But yeah. Once both pets are dead (he'll always Fel Domination out another one), just try to burn him down, while keeping Rejuv and Lifebloom on yourself.

Shadowpriests...well, if you see them run at you, root them. If they're dispelling everything you do, switch to only healing with Lifebloom (1 stack) and using Insect Swarm, that way, offensive or defensive, he's using more mana to dispel than you are to debuff. Nature's Grasp owns Shadowfiend. Shadowfiend is a huge amount of damage and mana, so root it and run away. Kite as much as you can until it despawns (smart Shadowpriests will try and dispel the roots, I know I have a macro that changes from summon Shadowfiend to Dispel Magic on Shadowfiend if he is already active). If he tries to burn your mana, do what you can to conserve it. Most people don't realize that against lower mana, higher resil players (offensive casters, usually), that Mana Burn costs nearly as much to cast as it will burn, but at the cost of rooting the caster for a second and a half. He has just as much a chance of going OOM as you do. If he has to blow Dispersion to regenerate mana, he can't use it defensively to negate Starfall Damage.

It's a tough fight, I'm only about 40/60 with the Shadowpriest winning the majority. Though a large number of those wins are when I am able to start from Stealth and use the terrain to my advantage. Root from max range, put trees on him, both DoTs+FF, Wrath Spam until Eclipse/Set Bonus. Try to burn him down ASAP. If he gets scared and tries to Dispersion+run at you, Travel Form away. Wait for the Silence before you Starfall. When he tries to Vampiric Touch, Typhoon him. If he drops Shadowform to Heal, Cyclone him and repair your own damage/gain range. You can usually stop him from Psychic Screaming you at all.

As for a 2v2 partner, I have had success with Rogues (both Subtlety and Premed/Mut) and Marks Hunters. Granted, the Marksmanship Hunter is a -beast-. One of those Hunters who you're pretty sure could 1v2 his way to 1800. He'd probably hit 2500 if he dropped me for a Priest or something.

You could also go a CC-heavy route and grab an Affliction Warlock. DoT protection, rooting/cycloning the only things that give Warlocks trouble (Warriors mostly). Between Fear and Roots you could take nearly any class out of the game long enough to kill the partner, or even go a slow-and-steady route and outlast. He drains mana from fully DoTed healers while the partner is either running around or sitting somewhere. The warlock I found wasn't that great (kept wanting to go Demo, but the loss of the Felhunter hurt us more than the extra spelldamage/burst helped), so I can't offer too much advice there.

However, on my battlegroup, 1-1800 is full of the people who can't really deal with/survive/outlast against Priests, Warlocks, and Holy Paladins (three classes that Balance has Trouble against), so usually you don't fight many of those. Grab any 1k+ resil Warlock who knows his class, and I have full faith that you can get your weapon.

And I would suggest waiting it out until Wrathful. The difference between Furious (232) and Relentless (251) is decent, but the difference between Furious and Wrathful (270) is huge. As long as you have the 4-set, you're good to go.

[Tobyjohn]

I'd like to see a grp of boomkins in 5v5 popping starfall just as they engage the other team... just to see it :P

[Abolishment]

I'd like to see a grp of boomkins in 5v5 popping starfall just as they engage the other team... just to see it :P

I remember a video on YouTube a while agao (Burning Crusade era) where five Boomkins would pick a target, 5xMoonfire, 5xInsect Swarm, 15xTreants, Cyclone the other four, and collect Arena Points.

Was glorious.

[Tobyjohn]

I remember a video on YouTube a while agao (Burning Crusade era) where five Boomkins would pick a target, 5xMoonfire, 5xInsect Swarm, 15xTreants, Cyclone the other four, and collect Arena Points.

Was glorious.

i've seen that vid too, but with the "wee" buff starfall has gotten, it should be awsome!

[palefish]

Abolish, thank you so much for all the help! I got to around 1800 in BC with a sub rogue, and I cant say Ive EVER seen a marks in arenas, I always see survival, but with boomkin burst and "aimed shot healing debuff" I can understand why that combination would kick ass. I have the lightweave enchant on my cloak right now, would you suggest using the spell pen enchant instead?

[Khad]

First of all, i have to thank Abolishment for the tips.

Thou i have been weak on the pvp, especially on arena for months, i am from pure pvp background and did arena trough tbc with my moonkin. Hell, i toke note on how much money i spend on respecs to go from pvp to pve. It was close to 7k. Annyways, back to the topic.

Back few moths a go i experimented on few Balance/feral "hybrid" specs. This is what i have been using lately. Its not "standard" moonkin spec, but it has its perks.

http://eu.wowarmory.com/talent-calc....00000000000000

Atm i play balance/destro lock. What used to happen, especially with double dps teams was that i got burned really, really bad. Seems that with the SFall buff i get eaven more heat than before. This spec is to give you extra survivability while your team mate is A out of action or B nuking something while you just have to weather the storm, so to say.

I use Corroded skeleton Key as my 2nd trinket. My self buffed hp is at 30k. As glyphs i use MF, Barkskin and SFall.

Basicly, this spec plays of just like your avarage moonkin spec. It relays on fast fight (which you cant allways have, i know) and team work. It allso relays on YOU being the nuke/soft target in your team. DONT use it if your partner is the one that gets burned first. For example, this spec + ele sham would be a bad comp imho.

The negative sides are quite obvious: this spec does not have as much damage output and longetivity (= mana regen = OOC) than the standard spec has.

What you get is:
-Faster in and out of stealth movement in cat form. Good for kiting. Combined with glyphed MF and IS this gives significant advantage against non healing dps. Dot (maybe HoT)--> catform kite your mind out.
-Slightly better stealth detection. Gives you slightly better chanse to spot out those damn rogues. Depending on their spec+ race combo. You either see them or you dont. Compared to standard specs "you dont".
-Barkskin glyph is rock hard. Survival instinct is harder than rock. How you use them is situational, but bear in mind that frenzied regeneration heals you in correlation to your total health pool. Survival instinct + FR lands me to about 3-4k healt per tick. AND if you havent used your barkskin, sometimes you can actyally gain health while being nuked. You get all the rage, but your resilence+ armour + glyphed barkskin means that your taking small portion of the actual damage and close to zero crits.
-If being nuked, IS+MF+Trees --> bearform + SI+FR lands you in a safe spot, while the opposite goes to your bane, the attacker.

In a nutshell: If you find your self spending more time trying not to be killed in all your warious forms and lacking the time to use your damage dealing skills, give it a try. If your in a team where your the teams punch bag, while your team mates kill what ever your being hit by. Try i out. Lastly, if your new to arena and your meager healthpool and lack of resilence means you cant survive a deasent beating, give it a go.

On the other hand, if you are doing what your supposed to, that is damage and cc, and your team is skilled enough to keep you safe when your unable to do it your self, DONT use it! The dent to your dmg is notisable.

Hope this gives you guys(and girls) a slightly out of the box view to boomkinn pvp.

No shoe fits all feet, no feet fits all shoes.
Khad

[Splork]

I'd like to see a grp of boomkins in 5v5 popping starfall just as they engage the other team... just to see it :P

was playing 5s yesterday and at the last game for the evening we got into the ogrimmar arena. We went up whit the elivator and lol´d so damn hard when we saw 5 boomkins of doom poping tree´s and starfall. we won but after i had to go out for a while to get some air to not pas out from all the loling :P

[TwistedPower]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgNayhQKE1g Patch 3.3 its 4 boomkin and A resto Shaman.